by Ann Wilson
B
BADER, Lawrence: Imperial Ranger. Recruited Jess Winters as Sovereignof Alternate Sierra, 2683.
BALIK: (Sandeman) A solitary lupoid predator. Females tend to nestand bear their kits in the mountains or high foothills. (SylviaStevens)
BAST, Subsector 8-C: No. systems: 158 Sector: Centaurus with 3 inhabited planets: 3 Ruled by: with 2 inhabited planets: 10 with 1 inhabited planet: 24
BATTLE-COMPANION: (Sandeman) One who has fought beside another forsome time, or done a combat-related service for the other deservingsuch recognition. Battle-companions are usually warriors/w'women, butOthers are acknowledged as such occasionally. Under highly unusualcircumstances, even an enemy may become a battle-companion, at whichpoint @ is no longer an enemy. Battle-companions will give each otherLast Gift without question if asked, and when using High War Speech,employ the familiar mode.
BATTLEPREP: (Sandeman) A combat-oriented form of need, induced bymental and physical concentration. Unlike the sexual form of inducedneed, which will subside on its own with no more effect than a slightshortening of the warrior's cycle, battleprep involves the entire body;unless the warrior goes into demanding combat within an hour or two, hewill go into overload and die. As this is well known, a warrior willprep only when combat is imminent.
Battleprep is often referred to as a berserker state, but that is onlypartially correct. The prepped warrior is only marginally, if at all,aware of pain and wounds; blood clots quickly to minimize loss; speedand strength are heightened on the same order as that of someone ofaverage strength who can suddenly lift a car to save an infant. Beyondthis, however, the berserker analogy breaks down, because the warriorretains his full intelligence and judgement. This combination makes abattleprepped warrior one of the most dangerous beings in the knownuniverse.
BAYARD, Subsector 5-A: No. systems: 92 Sector: Pegasus with 3 inhabited planets: 5 Ruled by: with 2 inhabited planets: 8 with 1 inhabited planet: 20
BCE: Before the Common Era. Usually called BC (Before Christ) priorto the Empire. See CE.
BLACK LORD, The: Sandeman term for Lord Darth Vader, generallyregarded as villain of the classic Star Wars film trilogy. TheSandemans see him as a symbol of their race: held in thrall by another(Palpatine/the Shapers), but maintaining all honor possible during thatthralldom and eventually throwing it off to regain (or gain) full honorfor himself and his family (or the Sandeman race). Clan Vader, thefirst clan formed after Overthrow, was named for him and is the arbiterfor the most delicate questions of honor. The ceremonial garb calledhonor-black is derived directly from the Black Lord's armor and robes.
BLASTER: The standard Imperial sidearm, a plasma weapon.
BLAST RIFLE: A shoulder weapon, powered by a small fusion reactor pack,which emits a plasma beam. Since their power packs are larger thanthose of a hand-held blaster, they are correspondingly either morepowerful or more long-lasting, depending on the operator's preference.
BLOODMATE: A strong, possibly latent empath who has been changed bythe nosferatu pseudo-virus to an extremely capable blood donor, able tosupply all a Kin's needs. The primary adaptation is bone marrowhyperactivity, which permits loss of blood with no harm to theBloodmate beyond fatigue and increased appetite. Other changes includeincreased physical strength, though not to the extent of a Kin's, alongwith heightened empathy and endurance, both of which exceed a Kin's.
Although Bloodmates appeared at the same time as Kins, their lack ofvisible change meant that for more than two years they were thought tobe no more than unusually capable Donors. That changed when MarineCaptain Jase Thompson, who was extremely susceptible to the virus, waschanged and it was discovered that he literally had to donate at dailyintervals to remain physically and emotionally healthy. ["Teams"]This allowed testing of the other unusually capable donors, and led tothe discovery that the approximate 10% who went through change with noapparent effect had actually become Bloodmates.
BOND: A close physical/emotional tie between a Kin and a Bloodmate.It is involuntary, very fast, and takes place when a Kin feeds on aBloodmate who is @'s complement. The empathic link between them is sostrong that each is always aware of the other's physical and emotionalstate. This is usually quite pleasant, but if one is severely hurt orkilled, the other will suffer psychological and physical pain andillness, sometimes fatal.
BRIGIT, Subsector 11-C: No. systems: 138 Sector: Gemini with 3 inhabited planets: 3 Ruled by: with 2 inhabited planets: 13 with 1 inhabited planet: 23
BROTHERHOOD OF FREEDOM: (Kingdom Systems) A Systems-wide terroristgroup that appeared around 2550. It has no declared objective beyondthe disruption of society, and its leader, Lawrence Shannon, claims tobe the incarnation of Satan.
Its primary targets, until the Empire's arrival in 2572, were RoyalEnforcement Service troopers; at that point, Imperial personnel tookpriority. Other than those two groups, the Brotherhood's targets areplaces which will cause the most distress: schools, hospitals,churches, and such are attacked at random, the people there killed withthe maximum amount of violence. It is these terror raids which inspiredthe formation of the Strike Force section of the RES.